1.07.2011

Wired Kana is a series of lessons that will cover the basic Japanese alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana. Wired Kana: Lesson 1 starts with the 5 basic Japanese vowels; あ, い, う, え, お. These characters are the foundation for every other character in the series and vital for learning how to pronounce Japanese words.

To begin learning the Japanese characters, start by watching this instructional video.

Below is an example of each character, audio of its pronunciation, and a helpful way to remember it. Additionally, there's a chart showing each characters stroke order; showing how it looks when written.

How to remember:The hiragana character あ looks like an apple. The katakana character ア looks like an ice cream cone.

How to remember:The hiragana character い looks like two eels.The katakana character イ looks like an easel.

How to remember:The hiragana character う looks like a sideways 'U'.The katakana character ウ looks like the wick of a candle.

How to remember:The hiragana character え looks like a person exercising.The katakana character エ looks like an egg stand.

How to remember:The hiragana character お looks like a surprised face.The hiragana character オ looks like an old man with a long beard.